After the comments I spotted on my diary submission last week, the issue of additional and unnecessary enquiries has continued to go round my head. It was interesting to read comments about AI generated enquiries, enquiries the client may or may not have specifically asked and whether we should we be answering them.
When faced with enquiries where the answer can be found in the Property Information form (such as has the property ever flooded), I will ask the buyers’ conveyancer to review the questions and ask only those which are appropriate.
However, we know if we do that, the common response from the buyers’ conveyancer is often just to say ‘answer what you can’. That does not really help and does not do anything to move the transaction along.
What if there were a fine for asking unnecessary questions? I was thinking along the lines of the same as what managing agents do when faced with enquiries on the Leasehold Information Pack. Many managing agents will answer the first ten questions free of charge, but for any more than ten, they will charge a fee per question.
But even that does not help to focus the mind of the buyers’ conveyancer as it is not the buyer, nor his conveyancer, who will be paying that fee It falls on the seller, who has been told by his solicitor that the questions are irrelevant.
What if we could say to the buyers’ conveyancer, we will answer ten questions free of charge but if there are more that we deem irrelevant (perhaps in accordance with the CQS training module on unnecessary enquiries), then there will be charge.
Think about it would it work?
This column is written by a real high street conveyancer who wishes to remain anonymous. The views expressed are those of the author and not those of Today’s Conveyancer.
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